Low Fat Delightful Hamantaschen Cookies Recipes

PURIM HAMANTASCHEN

Steps:

• Cream the butter and sugar together in the large bowl.
• Add the egg yolks and continue to mix well.
• Add the ice water.
• Gradually stir in flour until a ball of dough is formed.
• Place the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for several hours or overnight.
• When ready to continue, take dough out of refrigerator.
• Turn on the oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease the cookie sheet with the butter.
• Divide the dough in half.
• Wrap the extra half in the plastic and put back in the refrigerator.
• Roll out the dough on a clean, lightly floured surface to a 1/4" thickness.
• Cut it into 2" circles (use the top of a glass to"press out" the circles).
• Place 1 teaspoon of the jam in the center of each circle and fold into three-cornered cookies.
• Start by pressing two sides together, then fold the third side over and press the ends together.
• Place the Hamantaschen about an inch apart on the greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly browned along the edges.
• You don't have to limit yourself to jam, I have used chocolate, peanute butter, a combo of peanut butter and chocolate, date spread, etc.

HAMANTASCHEN, LAZY

Steps:

• Beat butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla together. Add flour.
• Form into 3" logs, wrap and freeze.
• Before making, remove from freezer and let thaw slightly. Slice in 1/4" slices.
• Put some filling in the center of each slice.
• Fold each "cicle" into a triangular shape, pinching the edges closed. Note that the dough needs to have defrosted all the way to fold it.
• I put the cookies on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. That way, you can use a sharpie to write whose cookie is whose on the paper.
• Bake at 350°F until done, about 20 minutes.

HAMANTASCHEN-COOKIES (HAMAN'S HATS)

Steps:

• Hamantaschen are the traditional cookies of Purim, a festive holiday on the Jewish calendar.
• Grease cookie sheets.
• In large bowl, beat eggs slightly.
• Add sugar, orange peel and margarine; beat until mixture is light and fluffy.
• Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off.
• Add flour; mix well.
• Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 1 1/2 hours for easier handling.
• Heat oven to 350°F.
• On lightly floured surface, roll out 1/4 of dough at a time to 1/4-inch thickness.
• Keep remaining dough refrigerated.
• Cut with floured 3-inch round cookie cutter.
• Place 1 inch apart on greased cookie sheets.
• Spoon heaping teaspoonful poppy seed filling on center of each circle. Moisten edges of dough circles with water.
• Shape into triangles as shown in diagram, folding 3 sides in without completely covering filling; pinch corners to seal.
• Bake at 350° for 8-12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown.
• Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.

GLUTEN-FREE HAMANTASCHEN - SUGAR-FREE [ PURIM COOKIES ]

Steps:

• With an electric hand mixer, or in the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter or margarine with the agave nectar. Add the unbeaten egg, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla and continue combining. In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
• Slowly add the dry mixture into the liquid mixture. Mix until combined into a cohesive ball of dough. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
• Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Flour a counter or other surface thoroughly. Remove dough from refrigerator and immediately roll into a ball and roll the ball in flour before placing it on the floured counter. Roll out until 1/4" to 1/8" thickness. Using a juice glass or biscuit cutter, cut into 3-4" circles. Immediately move dough circles to parchment-lined cookie sheets. If the dough begins to stick to the counter, use a pastry scraper to gently transfer the disks of dough.
• Place approximately 1 teaspoon of filling (apricot preserves, lekvar, poppyseed filling, raspberry jam, etc) in the center of each circle. Using a pastry brush, apply well-beaten egg to the perimeter of each dough circle and immediately fold 3 sides of circle together so that the cookie becomes a triangle, and pinch corners to seal. Seal completely and firmly, using beaten egg so they do not come apart in baking. If you have trouble sealing the corners, try folding them over a bit. The final cookie should look like a triangle with the filling showing through only at the center.
• Use the remaining beaten egg to lightly brush the top of each pastry.
• Bake at 350 F for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden on top but not overly browned on the bottom (lift one cookie up after 12 minutes to make sure the bottom hasn't become dark brown). Let cool slightly before serving or transferring to cooling rack.

PURIM HAMANTASCHEN (STUFFED PASTRY DOUGH WITH FILLING)

Steps:

• COOKIE DOUGH:.
• Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.
• Work in butter using a pastry blender or two forks, one held in each hand.
• Add the eggs, mixing in with the pastry blender.
• Add the lemon peel.
• Form the dough into a ball and wrap in wax paper, and refrigerate for atleast 1 hour.
• YEAST DOUGH:.
• Sprinkle the yeast over 1/4 cup lukewarm water (105°F); add a pinch of sugar, and set aside until foamy.
• Put 2 cups flour in a large bowl and add the yeast, milk, salt, and remaining sugar.
• Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
• Add the butter and enough flour to produce a dough that is moist and pliable.
• Knead for 5 minutes.
• Form the dough into a ball and place in a large greased bowl.
• Cover with a dish towel and set aside to rise, 1-1 1/2 hours until doubled in bulk.
• MOHN FILLING:.
• Combine the poppy seeds, honey, and milk in a small saucepan. Simmer for about 10minutes, stirring constantly; the mixture should thicken.
• Stir in lemon juice, lemon peel, and raisins.
• Set aside to cool.
• PRUNE FILLING.
• Cover the prunes with 1 cup water in a small saucepan.
• Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes -1 hour, until tender.
• Add the lemon juice and honey, and simmer slowly for about 10 minutes.
• Stir in the nuts (if using) and let the filling cool.
• LEKVAR FILLING:.
• Combine all ingredients.
• NOTE:.
• All fillings can be made in advance and stored (covered) in the refrigerator.
• ASSEMBLY:.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F You will need 1 recipe dough, 1 recipe filling, and 1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water.
• Divide whichever dough you choose into portions you can easily roll out.
• On a floured board, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch. The cookie dough rolls out best if rolled out between two sheets of wax paper.
• Cut the dough into 3-4 inch circles, using the top of a glass or cookie cutter. Fill each circle with a heaping teaspoon of filling and pinch the dough around it into a triangular shape.
• Brush the dough with the egg wash and bake on a greased cookie sheet for 20-30minutes (the cookie dough will bake faster than the yeast dough).
• When the cookies are done, they will look appealingly brown. Taste one if in doubt!

HAMENTASHEN WITH YEAST DOUGH

Steps:

• Combine all the dry ingredients.
• In a separate bowl, mix together all the liquid ingredients.
• Gradually add the dry ingredients to the liquid to form a dough.
• Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic.
• Spray a large mixing bowl with Pam and place the dough inside.
• Spray the Pam on the dough and cover loosely with a towel until the dough doubles in size.
• Punch down the dough.
• Divide into thirds on a lightly floured surface.
• Roll out each piece until it is ¼-inch thick.
• Cut out 3-inch rounds.
• Reroll scraps.
• Place the filling in the center of each dough round.
• Fold three sides up to form a triangle, leaving some filling exposed in the center.
• Place the hamentashen 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheets.
• Cover again and let rise at room temperature until nearly double, about one hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Brush the tops of the hamentashen with the egg wash.
• Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool.